Wars of Expansion
The Wars of Expansion were the first strategic phase of the Icarion Insurrection, in which the Stormlord set in motion a great burst of rebellions and uprisings, sending the forces loyal to him to carve out a realm around Madrigal from which he could challenge and depose the Emperor of Mankind. This period of conflict would be succeeded by the First Solar War. Expansion As the Loyalist Legions reeled from the Day of Revelation, Icarion set a vast scheme of conquest in motion. Had all gone his way at this stage, Mars would have been entirely in his grasp and the Halcyon Wardens, having declared for him, would have seized or blockaded Terra itself. Mercifully, the courage and ingenuity of his victims had denied him complete victory in the opening moves, but he had not achieved his prestige without resourcefulness and careful planning. So Icarion moved to exploit the anarchy he had caused. He would carve out a domain from the body of the Imperium, and from this he would raise armies to topple the Emperor from the throne of Terra. Already the Madrigal Sphere had provided great numbers of mortal soldiers, loyal to him above all, and beyond this core the poison had spread far. With Icarion’s declaration, thousands of planetary governors and military commanders turned their cloaks and fell upon their former comrades. The disarray was already far-reaching, much of it by the Insurrectionists’ design. Food shipments meant for dozens of systems never arrived, leading swiftly to famine and rioting. Foundry worlds were denied raw materials, stolen away to build the Stormlord’s counterfeit empire. Many planets were coerced into counter-compliance, choosing treason over death. Most Forge Worlds within Icarion’s borders threw their lot in with him, having been carefully plied with promises, and Hatross, closely allied to the Halcyon Wardens, was marked for blockading in short order. The Warmaster Alexandros responded swiftly, but with his Legions in disarray and Mars in open revolt, his options were limited for the most part to rescuing assets from the enemy’s advance and establishing bulwarks. The Shepherds of Eden stationed in the Badab system had been driven off in bloody fashion by the Harbingers, leaving the heart of Icarion’s realm secure. Hundreds of worlds, whose rulers had long been prepared to play their role, tore down the Imperial Aquila and raised the four-pointed star in its place. The Insurrectionists had already begun a program of further Legion-building, gifting fiefs to the Morning Stars and turncoats from the IVth and Vth Legions. These were lauded in propaganda, but even as they were being hailed as the saviours of Mankind from an uncaring despot, such unsavoury forces as the Berserkers of Uran and the Drowned were descending on recalcitrant worlds to punish resistance. Forces of the Traitor Mechanicum joined them, harvesting prisoners for their taghmata. With his sons and the Fire Keepers committed in bulk to the Martian campaign, Alexandros turned to the ranks of those Titan Legions who remained steadfast, and the Imperial Army. As Warmaster, he had always been more beloved of the common soldier than the Legions, and this factor would prove crucial in weathering the initial onslaught. Roughly three fifths of the Army stood by him, and in several instances, Insurrectionist commanders were rudely surprised when their troops and menials refused to turn against the Emperor and His Warmaster. However, those forces that did belong to Icarion were several steps ahead, working from a plan years in the making, and the Legions he commanded were an obstacle that even the largest armies would struggle to overcome. Now he gave the word for them to carve out his counterfeit empire, and the Angels of Death descended upon the worlds of Man which they themselves had conquered. The Wars of Expansion had begun. The Storm Breaks With a suddenness few could believe, the regions around the eastern border of Segmentum Solar began to burn. Mere days after the declaration was made, the Harbingers struck the Karthago Sector at the head of a vast host. Far to the south, advancing from Untara, Sorrowsworn Morro led his Drowned Men in a swift and merciless attack on Dreska. From here, the tendrils of the Kraken spread out, ensnaring ever more worlds and fleets. Dozens of worlds trembled at their coming, and many more fell soon under the blades of the Eagle Warriors as Socraes Travier took a hand. In the north, the Berserkers of Uran broke from their pursuit of the Crimson Lions, falling upon seven worlds in the first thrust and putting them to the sword and torch. Close behind were the Grave Stalkers, just as eager to make bloody examples of those who resisted the usurpers. With many of the Insurrectionist forces came Titan maniples, Knights, mortal soldiers in their millions and steelshod Mechanicum armies, all ready to kill for the Stormlord. More treacherous hosts were drawing near, and already the storm was unfurling. Yet there would be no mad rush for Terra. With Mars being dragged back into the Loyalist fold, Icarion knew the united Sol System would be nigh impossible to conquer, much less hold with so many of his foes still alive. The brother he had feared most to face in open battle was dead, but Hectarion and Andezo were hardly to be underestimated. Worse, Alexandros, the brother who knew him best in heart and mind, whom he had counted on to be his right hand in the uprising, was masterminding the defence. Thus Icarion would instead supplant the Emperor’s throne before he usurped it, carving away great chunks of the Imperium and building his own realm, centred on Madrigal. The actions of his generals were all geared towards this goal, as were those of his propagandists. Icarion was a masterful politician in his own right, and he saw how the Loyalists’ retreat from indefensible worlds could be spun into an act of callous abandonment. On many planets this proved fruitful, and men were turned to cursing the Emperor and his servants. On others, however, fealty to the Imperium was not so easily cast aside, especially on the worlds between Terra and Madrigal where Imperial ideals had had centuries to take root. Here, bloody reprisals were handed out and malcontents killed or enslaved to feed the Insurrectionist war effort. There were many such worlds, for after fortifying the Imperial Palace Niklaas, Primarch of the Xth Legion, had devised a great network of bastion worlds, ringing the Throneworld and reaching as far as the Tayargund Reaches at the verge of Icarion's nascent empire. Many of these strongholds had been planned, it is thought, before Icarion had begun to plot against his rebellion, and thus he had not been able to covertly prevent their construction, nor replace their garrisons with forces loyal to him. Thus they ranked among the greatest threats to his advance, and thus they would be among the first worlds to feel the wrath of the newly renamed Harbingers. Calamity The Tayargund Reaches were swiftly overwhelmed in a series of devastating battles fought in the Nerska March and then at Commena, Ysta and Katorz under Icarion's direction. As well as securing the heart of Icarion's fiefdom against counter-attacks, his offensive destroyed key Loyalist bulwarks and left whole sectors open to invasion. This would be duly followed by a string of disasters including Kelbor Hal's seizure of Hatross and the fall of Anvillus. While the Schism of Mars ended with a Loyalist victory, in the main they were on the back foot throughout this phase. Such was the extent of their retreat that scores of worlds were left to fight on without assistance as the Warmaster's forces pulled back to a defensible perimeter of systems. The Void Eagles were abroad in this No Man's Land at this time, announcing their presence at the Siege of Foleith and commencing a bloody campaign of scorched-earth operations to slow the enemy. Notable Campaigns 030. M31 * The Ravaging of the Nerska March * The Conquest of the Commena Cluster * The Invasion of Thelum * The Battle of Ysta * The Sack of Katorz 032. M31 * The Agony of Chalcea * The Siege of Foleith * The Conquest of Hatross * Subjugation of Zbruch * The Razing of Han 033. M31 * The Fall of Anvilus 035. M31 * The Torment of Aureus * Battle of Iyacrax Category:W Category:Campaign Category:Wars of Expansion Category:Icarion Insurrection